Stenger Family Office LLC Takes $4.20 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 28,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,199,000. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.0% of Stenger Family Office LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 6,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $176.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $162.61 and its 200-day moving average is $149.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $280.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $177.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.38.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.